The Millennium Declaration acknowledges the
special problems experienced by the vulnerable
communities, such as the Least Developed Countries,
Small Island Developing States and landlocked
countries. It recognises the need to bring Africa
into the mainstream of the world economy. Vulnerable
communities are even more dependent than others on
ICTs because of their physical isolation. While the
digital divide has been narrowing for middle-income
developing countries, it has actually been widening
for the very poorest countries, especially in terms
of connectivity to the international Internet
backbone. The Summit can help to focus world
attention on these problems.

Relevant documents and links:

·Towards
a new information and communication technologies
strategy for African Least Developed Countries

·Africa
Computing, an international partnership for the use
of the Internet in Africa.

·Acacia
Initiative of the IDRC
(International Development Research Centre): Communities
and the Information Society in Africa, an international program to
empower sub-saharan communities with the ability to
apply ICTs to their own social and economic
development.

·UNECA's
Information Technology Centre for
Africa (ITCA), an information and communication technology
or ICT-focused exhibition and learning centre with the
mandate to raise awareness among African policy makers and planners
of the value of ICTs
for African development.